Thibodaux mayor, police chief named in lawsuit

Thibodaux’s mayor and police chief are defendants in a lawsuit claiming they schemed to ruin a police officer’s career and reputation for political gain.

Xerxes WilsonStaff Writer

Thibodaux’s mayor and police chief are defendants in a lawsuit claiming they schemed to ruin a police officer’s career and reputation for political gain. Veteran officer Calvin Cooks filed the suit that alleges Chief Scott Silverii and other police officers concocted rumors implicating Cooks in two 2011 incidents that involved 56 tires slashed on police vehicles parked outside the agency’s Canal Boulevard headquarters.Officers did this at the request of Mayor Tommy Eschete, who Cooks claims was doing a political favor for former City Councilman Varick Taylor Sr., the suit claims. Cooks, who remains a captain in the department, is seeking “equitable relief” and punitive damages in the suit filed in the 17th Judicial District Court. On Friday, Eschete declined to specifically address the claims until he consulted his attorney.“I can tell you the allegations are not true, and they will not be proven in court,” Eschete said. Silverii said he had not studied the suit as of Friday afternoon, but called Cooks’ claims — which he has faced before — “baseless.” Earlier this year, Cooks filed a complaint with the city’s Civil Service Board claiming Eschete and Silverii conspired to remove Cooks from his role as assistant police chief. Cooks was appointed assistant chief in 2009, but Silverii eliminated the position when he took office in 2010.The claim was dismissed but not discredited. Civil Service Director Kelly Chighizola said the complaint didn’t fall within the jurisdiction of civil service rules on employment-related issues.The suit said conflict began when Cooks refused to make a $5,000 campaign donation to Taylor during his 2006 reelection race. “Taylor, Sr. was enraged at Cooks’ refusal to do so and harbored a festering animosity together with a desire for retribution and retaliation,” the suit says. “In 2010, Taylor Sr. convinced he carried enough sway with minority voters to ask for favors approached then 2010 mayoral candidate Tommy Eschete.” The suit claims “witnesses” heard Taylor and Eschete discussing political strategy and favors, including punishing Cooks for refusing the contribution. This punishment, according to the suit, would be removing Cooks from the assistant chief of police position, reassigning him to the Traffic Division and denying him the ability to drive his longtime school bus route. In December 2010, as the city looked to fill the police chief vacancy, the suit claims, Silverii was promised the position by Taylor if he would punish Cooks. Despite losing his bid for reelection in 2010, Taylor was part of the police chief selection panel, which Eschete dissolved after a “heated argument” between himself and Taylor, the suit said. This argument was overheard by Taylor’s neighbor, Parish Councilman Jerry Jones, who claims Eschete said “political heat” would lead him to dissolve the panel if Taylor didn’t recuse himself, the suit says. The suit claims Eschete asked each police chief candidate what they would do with Cooks if they were hired.All this took place before the tire-slashing incidents in May and June 2011. The suit claims that officers with the department including Silverii began spreading rumors that Cooks was behind the slashings. Shontell Clark, who is also named as a defendant in the case, played a key role in a scheme to pin the tire slashings on Cooks, according to the suit. Clark was close to Silverii and served as a confidential informant for Thibodaux Police and the Lafourche Parish Sheriff’s Office, according to the suit. The suit says Clark, who was jailed for a carjacking in the months following the slashings, concocted a scheme to pin blame for the slashings on Cooks. In return, Silverii would help Clark get out of jail and not have his parole revoked for the carjacking, the suit said.Clark made statements implicating Cooks and two others, but Sheriff Craig Webre said there was not enough probable cause to bring charges. Clark’s carjacking charges were dismissed while the sheriff’s investigation was ongoing. Though there were was insufficient evidence, Cooks said his professional reputation has been damaged. The suit claims police officers and Silverii continue to make disparaging comments defaming Cooks’s reputation. Cooks could not be reached for comment Friday.